Origins of Jazz: Work Songs and Blues

Topics we will discuss and learn:

• The African experience in American creates the foundation elements of the blues, spirituals and jazz
• Blues History

The African experience in American creates the foundation elements of the blues, spirituals and jazz

African music is polyrhythmic and creates a syncopation of the beat that was not felt before in western music.  This way of feeling the beat created the “swing” in jazz music.

            Most of the Africans that were taken into slavery were from several ethnic groups, Yoruba, Dahomey, Fon, Ga, Akan.

Music in these societies is used for worship, work, ceremony, and healing.

Instruments are believed to possess souls and must be prayed to.

There are many different kinds of instruments used in music making in these cultures

            Kora – stringed instrument

            Drums – many different kinds of drums

            Mbira – thumb piano 

The notes that the Africans sang were based on their tonal scales from whichever region they inhabited in Africa.  The blue notes are an amalgamation of these tones juxtaposed to western music.

The call and response form or antiphonal singing that makes up much of various African music forms became the basis for blues, spirituals, and jazz song forms.

Work songs, field hollers and chain gang songs were directly related to call and response forms in various African musics.

Blues

• The term “blues” started to be used back in the late 18^th century and early 19^th century to describe a feeling of being low in spirits. 
• The term was also used to describe the music that could range from slow in tempo or fast.

• Ragtime music grew up alongside the blues and was used interchangeably in music titles such as W.C. Handy’s “Yellow Dog Rag” and “Yellow Dog Blues” (1914).

Types of Blues

            City Blues

Characterized by larger instrumentation i.e. horns, rhythm section (piano, bass, drums), maybe strings

            Country Blues

Characterized by less instrumentation usually vocalist, guitar accompaniment (piano was not used frequently), and maybe a harmonica

            Postwar Blues

Characterized by electric guitar, piano, harmonica and vocalist

            Geographic centers of the Blues

                        Mississippi

                        Texas

                        Memphis Tennessee

                        Kansas City

                        Chicago

                        New York

            Notable Blues singers

                        Ma Rainey

                        Bessie Smith

                        Blind Lemon Jefferson

                        Robert Johnson

                        Jimmy Rushing

Louis Jordan

                        Muddy Waters

                        B.B. King

            Race and gender

                        Most of the early classic blues singers were women

Various reasons for this but the foremost reason was the reluctance on the part of record executives to create an idolized artist out of a black male.

Race records were commercial records aimed strictly at the black market.

Mamie Smith’s recording “Crazy Blues” 1920 ushered in the race records.  This recording sold 8,000 copies a week for several months.

                        Most of the country blues singers were men. 

These were the travelers and nomads that rode the trains and played guitar or harmonica.

Terms to know:

Call and response

Work Songs

polyrhythm

Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNWs0LsimFs

Robert Johnson - Crossroads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A&feature=related

Muddy Waters - Hoochie Coochie Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgAcDLZr6Gs

Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie - Take Me Back Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qCUgik-al0